According to data from the eVisitor system, which contains the tourist traffic recorded in commercial and non-commercial facilities and the nautical charter (eCrew system), in Croatia in the period from January to the end of March there were 894,000 arrivals (+19%) and 2.3 million overnight stays (+20%). From this 596,000 arrivals (+27%) were by foreign tourists and 1.6 million overnight stays (+29%), whilst there was also a growth in domestic tourist arrivals of 6% and overnight stays of 4%.
“The positive tourist results for the first three months and the Easter weekend are confirmation of the successfulness of year-round tourism in Croatia which year after year is breaking the records and puts Croatia amongst the most significant global tourist destinations. It is the result of the good preparations and joint activities of all the stakeholders in tourism, the private and public sector. The support of our government who has recognised the importance of tourism to the entire economy of the country, which has contributed to the increase in the quality, the income and arrival and overnight stays of visitors should also be emphasised”, said the Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli and added: “Quality and sustainable development are our absolute priorities, and in this sense we are progressing every year. The many comparative advantages and increasingly competitive position also make Croatia desirable for investors, which the prestigious Financial Times and the agency for credit rating Standard & Poor's have also confirmed. With numerous investments, our goal is the stimulation of further employment and also to achieve one more significant step forward for Croatian tourism in this tourist year”, concluded Minister Cappelli.
The Director of the Croatian National Tourism Board Kristjan Staničić emphasised how the achieved results are the consequence of numerous promotional activities, as well as the excellent preparations for the season. “The achieved results during the first three months of this year, as well as the results achieved during the Easter weekend confirm our announcements about a good touristic year. Our goal is the maintaining of positive trends during the pre-season, in other words during April, May and June, so at the level of the first half of the year, we are expecting a cumulative growth in tourist traffic of from 10 to 15 percent. In order to achieve this we will continue with the implementation of key marketing and PR activities on outbound markets, as well as quality relations with key partners, meaning tour operators and airline companies, which are confirming the growth of demand for Croatian destinations, and are announcing the introduction of many new flight connections”, said Director Staničić, adding how pleasing the fact is that faraway markets such as the USA and Korea have also made a significant contribution during the first three months.
During the first three months the most overnight stays were recorded in Istria (545,000 overnight stays), Zagreb (401,000 overnight stays) and in Kvarner (334,000 overnight stays).Then follows Split-Dalmatia County with 273,000 overnight stays, Dubrovnik-Neretva County with 222,000 overnight stays, Zadar County with 118,000 overnight stays, Šibenik-Knin County with 77,000 and Lika-Senj County with 36,000 overnight stays. On the continent, not including Zagreb, there were 150,000 arrivals (+8%) and 341,000 overnight stays (+12%) and looking at the counties the most overnight stays were recorded in Krapina-Zagorje County (79,000 overnight stays), Međimurje County (39,000 overnight stays), Osijek-Baranja County (36,000 overnight stays) and Varaždin County (34,000 overnight stays).
In the mentioned period the most overnight stays were made from the markets of Germany (196,000 overnight stays), Bosnia and Herzegovina (184,000 overnight stays), Austria (184,000 overnight stays), Slovenia (170,000 overnight stays) and Italy (104,000 overnight stays), whereas looking by the accommodation sector most of the overnight stays were made in hotels (1.4 million) and in private accommodation (446,000 overnight stays).
In March there was a growth of 31% in overnight stays
In March in Croatia there were 450,000 arrivals and 1.1 million overnight stays which compared to March 2017 represents a growth of 27% in arrivals and 31% in overnight stays. In March the most overnight stays were recorded in Istria (312,000 overnight stays), in Kvarner (167,000 overnight stays) and in Zagreb (156,000 overnight stays), whilst in March on the continent 54,000 arrivals and 116,000 overnight stays were recorded, of which the most overnight stays were recorded in Krapina-Zagroje, Osijek-Baranja and Međimurje counties.
During Easter, more than 285,000 overnight stays were recorded
In the period from 30th March to 2nd April, in other words during the extended Easter weekend, 91,497 arrivals and 285,761 overnight stays were recorded in Croatia. From this the most overnight stays were made by people from Germany (61,737 overnight stays), Croatia (40,927 overnights), Italy (26,860 overnight stays), Austria (24,303 overnight stays), Slovenia (12,578 overnight stays), the United Kingdom (9,107 overnight stays) and the USA (8,768 overnight stays).
Looking by destinations the most overnight stays were made in Dubrovnik (30,355 overnight stays), Poreč (20,560 overnight stays), Zagreb (19,015 overnights), Rovinj (16,147 overnight stays), Opatija (12,909 overnight stays), Split (11,790 overnight stays), Zadar (9,727 overnight stays), Medulin (9,666 overnight stays), Umag (9,424 overnight stays) and Pula (9,009 overnight stays). We would like to add that the most overnight stays were made in hotels (63% of the overall overnight stays) and in private accommodation (17% of the overall overnight stays).